An app can have fresh content ready before you reopen it. Background App Refresh on iPhone and iPad lets you allow or stop those background checks.
Background refresh can use battery power and network data. Turning it off may save some of both, but an app may need to load new content when you open it. This setting does not stop every kind of background activity, such as audio playback.
The main setting applies to all apps, while individual switches let you keep background refresh for the apps you need. An app's switch only takes effect when the main setting allows refresh. Permission to refresh does not guarantee immediate updates, because the system decides when background checks run.
Steps to manage background app refresh on iPhone and iPad:
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap General.
Account and setup messages above General vary with your device's setup. On iPad, General is in the Settings sidebar.
- Tap Background App Refresh.
- Tap the top Background App Refresh row if it has a chevron instead of a switch.
- Set the main Background App Refresh control to the option you want.
Apple lists Off to disable refresh for all apps, Wi-Fi to allow refresh over Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi & Cellular Data to allow refresh over either connection. The cellular option may be labeled Wi-Fi & Mobile Data in your region. If your device shows a single switch instead, off disables refresh and on allows it.
- Tap the back button to return to the app list if you opened the network options.
- Set the switch beside each app whose background refresh permission you want to change.
An enabled switch allows that app to refresh; a disabled switch stops its background refresh. The app list varies with installed apps. When the main setting is off, individual switches are unavailable, so separate app changes are unnecessary.
- Check that the main Background App Refresh setting and any available app switches match your choices.
The picture shows background refresh set to Wi-Fi with News and Reminders switched off. With the main setting off, Background App Refresh is disabled for all apps. With it on, only apps with enabled switches are allowed to refresh over the permitted connection. Low Power Mode and Low Data Mode can turn off background refresh even when you have allowed it.